5 years ago
OK, be honest- how many of you have Vermont and Bucknell advancing in your NCAA brackets?
Vermont stunned Big East champion Syracuse 60-to-57 in one shocker in the NCAA tournament. The 13th-seeded Catamounts, champions of the America East conference, got back-to-back three-pointers from Germain Mopa Njila and T.J. Sorrentine in a 48-second span of overtime.
Njila finished with a career-high 20 points. It's Vermont's first NCAA tournament victory. It's also the first time in 12 games that Vermont has beaten a Big East team. Syracuse self-destructed with 24 turnovers. Vermont plays Michigan State next. The Spartans eliminated Old Dominion 89-to-81.
As if that wasn't enough, Bucknell out of the Patriot League defeated Kansas 64-to-63.
Chris McNaughton banked in a hook shot with ten and a-half seconds left for the winning basket. Bucknell is a number-14 seed beating a number-three seed.
Kansas had won 21 straight first-round games in a streak that dates to 1981. It's Bucknell's first NCAA victory in 110 seasons of college play. Kevin Bettencourt had 19 for the Bison. Next up for Bucknell is Wisconsin. The Badgers held off a late charge and beat Northern Iowa 57-to-52. Kammron Taylor scored 16 points off the bench.
Top-seed Duke held off 16th-seed Delaware State 57-to-46 in first-round action in the Syracuse regional. That ties Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski with former North Carolina coach Dean Smith with 65 career victories, the most in NCAA tournament history. Ohio made a heroic run but came up short. The 13th-seeded Bobcats wiped out a 20-point deficit in the final 12 minutes of their NCAA opener against fourth-seed Florida, but the Gators got control in the final minute and pulled out a 67-to-62 win in the Syracuse Regional. Anthony Roberson had the decisive three-point play in the final minute. Next up for Florida is Villanova. The Wildcats held New Mexico to eleven points in the first half, then hit only three field goals themselves in the second half of a 55-to-47 win over the Lobos. Also in that regional, Iowa State held Minnesota to 33 percent shooting and shut down the Golden Gophers 64-to-53 in a matchup of the eight and nine seeds. The Cyclones get top-seed North Carolina next. The Tar Heels romped over Oakland 96-to-68 as Marvin Williams scored 20 and Sean May 19. Elsewhere in the Syracuse Regional, second-seed and defending champion Connecticut opened a 19-point lead and held off Central Florida 77-to-71. The Huskies got 22 from Charlie Villanueva and next play tenth-seed North Carolina State. The NC State Wolfpack used 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds from Julius Hodge to beat seventh-seed Charlotte 75-to-63. In the Chicago Regional, second-seed Oklahoma State pulled away in the closing minutes to beat Southeastern Louisiana 63-to-50.
Waiting for the Cowboys in round two is Southern Illinois, a 65-to-56 winner over Saint Mary's. Francisco Garcia went seven-for-seven from the foul line in the last two minutes and finished with 27 points to help fourth-seeded Louisville advance to the second round of the Albuquerque Regional with a 68-to-62 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette. Georgia Tech became the fifth Atlantic Coast Conference team to advance by downing George Washington 80-to-68. Jarrett Jack had 20 for the Yellow Jackets, who are the fifth ACC team to win first-round games. Georgia Tech plays Louisville Sunday.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
